South African entrepreneur Jo Farah has spent more than a decade exploring the potential of probiotic biotechnology in everyday products. In 2012, he founded Sneaker LAB – now The Lab – in Cape Town, developing probiotic-powered products as a more sustainable approach to sneaker and fashion care. The business grew from a South African start-up into an international brand, working with global names including New Balance, Nike and Dior.
With GoodBasics, Farah has brought that experience into the home. Built around its Microbiome Support philosophy, the Cape Town-based biotech brand uses beneficial microorganisms and enzymes to break down dirt and organic matter, offering a more considered alternative to harsh chemicals and traditional kill-based cleaning while supporting the microbial environments in which we live.
Alongside Farah is Dan Nash, GoodBasics Brand & Marketing Manager, whose career spans advertising, creative direction, digital marketing, communications and brand storytelling. A former Creative Director of Ogilvy PR who also headed the agency’s integrated Newsroom, Nash previously worked with Farah and the Sneaker LAB team.
Together again at GoodBasics, the pair bring complementary experience to the business – Farah in entrepreneurship, biotechnology and product development; Nash in building brands and turning complex ideas into accessible consumer conversations.
“We’ve been conditioned to think that the fewer microorganisms there are in our homes, the cleaner and healthier those homes must be,” says Nash. “The science around microbial life is encouraging us to look at that idea differently. Cleaning, done the way nature intended, means working with these living environments, not against them.”
For GoodBasics, that means asking consumers to look at household cleaning in much the same way they increasingly look at food and skincare – questioning what is in the products they use and how those products interact with their everyday environment.
“We question so much about the products we buy, and we’re learning more all the time about what affects our health. Cleaning, ironically, is a bit of a blind spot in people’s lives,” says Nash. “We’re encouraging people to take a closer look at the products and practices they use in order to create a healthier home environment.”
The GoodBasics range includes products for surfaces, kitchens, bathrooms, laundry and upholstery and is designed and manufactured in Cape Town.
